Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
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Cult of Hockey (Staples)
Mysteries of Edmonton Oilers revealed: Why the team is keen about Slater Koekkoek?
- I was glad to see Slater Koekkoek signed. He did very well in softer minutes. He’s a steady passer and OK defender, a smart player. Not only that, if he doesn’t make it there’s no cap penalty in just burying his contract in the AHL.
- By that metric (which players make major contributions to Grade A chances for and which players make major mistakes on Grade A chances against.), Koekkoek showed up well. He played against softer competition, not the difficult attackers that players like Adam Larsson or Darnell Nurse regularly faced, but he held his own on defence and chipped in consistently on the attack.
- One mark held against Koekkoek is that when he was on the ice at even strength, the Oilers scored just four goals for and gave up 12 goals against.
- If you dig into how many major mistakes he made on those 12 even strength goals against, that number is just six, just 50 per cent of the goals against.
- That was the lowest rate on the team for a d-man other than shut-down stalwart (Adam) Larsson…
- Compare that to Ethan Bear, who was on the ice for 29 even strength goals against but made major mistakes on 24 of them, 82.8 per cent…
- …the Oilers have kept Koekkoek, who did well by this metric, but moved on from Jones, who struggled, and from Bear, who struggled at the start of the year before coming on very strong as the year went on.
BLH’s Thoughts: Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones got obliterated last year according to The Cult of Hockey’s numbers and if the Oilers track the numbers in any way similar to what the CoH does, we can safely come to the conclusion that the Oilers are a better team without those two defenders.
It’s simple, Dave Tippett and the Oilers do not have time for players who are constantly at fault for shots that end up in the back of Edmonton’s net.
So, yes, Bear and Jones might be fantastic puck movers but last season, when they f*cked up, more often than not (truly), the puck was in their net and that’s unacceptable. Want to improve 5v5 scoring? Keep the puck out of your own net…
I'm hearing that Seattle is watching the Tyler Benson situation very closely…#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/09LIYQY5Nn
— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 14, 2021
Lowetide.ca
END OF THE LINE
- I’m a fan of bringing Koekkoek in, his Edmonton numbers don’t rhyme but his career as a whole looks good. KK arrived, struggled, had a good two-week run in the back half of January before getting injured. I think he’ll play 50+ games
- Lagesson would be the first recall, after that Berglund, Samorukov, Niemelainen and Broberg would be in the mix.
- First recall option in goal would be Stuart Skinner, suspect they’ll want Woodcroft, Manson and whoever replaces Houle to have a long look at Ilya Konovalov before he is elevated.
- Up front, first LW recall would be Brendan Perlini and let’s face it he could make the team with Benson waived and possibly headed to Bakersfield. At center, Holloway and Marody on right wing.
- The Oilers STILL have plenty of room. It’s crazy. They could add six names today and still not get to 50.
- …at this point we’re probably looking at training camp invites and PTO’s as opposed to full signings. RHD and RC are always areas that can be shored up.
BLH’s Thoughts: Considering what I’ve heard, I don’t think Benson makes it through waivers. There are teams out there who value his scoring ability too much to let him get to Bakersfield untouched.
William Lagesson, on the other hand, I could see him slipping through to Bakersfield. LHD are a dime a dozen.
I am not concerned about the roster getting filled out today. There’s lots of time to see how the rest of the market plays out this summer and then make a move to sign someone or offer some PTOs. Consider the kinds of players that are still unsigned like Bobby Ryan, Derrick Brassard, Alex Chiasson, and Sami Vatanen.
Lots of time and plenty of options still out there…
Spector’s Hockey
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski looked at this summer’s top-five trade candidates who haven’t been moved yet and why.
- Topping his list, of course, is Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel. The stalemate between Eichel and the club’s medical staff over a medical procedure to repair a herniated disc in his neck is the main factor.
- Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is next. Reports from this spring claimed the club was out of patience with his inconsistent play and off-ice antics.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins’ limited cap space saw winger Jason Zucker’s name surface in the rumor mill. His low production last season, caused in part by a lower-body injury, and his $5.5 million annual average value should ensure Zucker remains a Penguin this season.
- Winger Vladimir Tarasenko wants to be traded and the St. Louis Blues are trying to move him but no one wants to take on his full $7.5 million cap hit through 2022-23.
- Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk surfaced in rumors with reports linking him to Toronto and his hometown of St. Louis. Flames GM Brad Treliving, however, shot down that speculation.
BLH’s Thoughts: Does anybody else feel like a lot of these guys could simply be traded for each other and that would even out any money problems or, in some cases, destination challenges?
